Gray Fullbuster vs. Bickslow
Gray Fullbuster vs. Bickslow is a fight fought between Fairy Tail Mages Gray Fullbuster and Bickslow. Prologue Numerous battles spring up around the same time as Vijeeter Ecor and Nab Lasaro's: Warren Rocko vs. Max Alors; Macao Conbolt vs. Wakaba Mine; Laki Olietta vs. four other girls; and a few other matches, all courtesy of Freed's rune traps. Through Freed's status reports, Makarov and Natsu learn of each match's outcome, and the two are angered (albeit for different reasons) by the fighting. Natsu is chastised by Makarov for his wish to join the Battle of Fairy Tail; Makarov tells the Fire Dragon Slayer that it isn't a mere tournament and that lives are at stake Natsu, however, expresses his faith in Laxus, which leaves Makarov surprised. At that moment, though, another status report comes in, revealing that only forty-two Fairy Tail Mages are left in the battle—less than half of what there was to begin with.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 109, Pages 4-8Fairy Tail Anime: Episode 43 Concurrently, Reedus attempts to exit the town in order to, as per Makarov's request, retrieve Porlyusica from East Forest. As he is about to leave, however, he runs into a wall of runes that he quickly learns is placed around the entire town; Freed then appears and tells Reedus that he won't tolerate any rule-breaking and that, as a Mage, he should show him his power. Meanwhile, Gray prowls about Magnolia in search of Laxus, though, in a fashion house, he instead runs into the Bickslow, the man expressing his desire to do battle with the Ice-Make Mage.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 109, Pages 9-12 Battle Rushing forward, Gray dodges all of Bickslow's incoming attacks (both melee and magical alike), including the very powerful Line Formation, which severs the arm off of a mannequin and cleanly slices a bookshelf in half. After praising Gray for his skill, Bickslow calls out for his dolls to use their Victory Formation, but finds that they are unable to, as Gray has frozen them. Utilizing his created opening, Gray knees Bickslow in the face and then proceeds to attack him with Ice-Make: Hammer; Bickslow blocks the attack by moving the souls of his dolls into mannequins and using them as a shield. Annoyed by Bickslow's antics, Gray threatens to freeze the man; Bickslow goads Gray in return and runs away, continuously using his mannequins as a shield.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 110, Pages 5-11 Annoyed, Gray chases Bickslow into an alleyway and finds him acrobatically supporting himself from up above. After questioning Bickslow as to what he's doing, Gray finds that both of them have been caught in a rune trap that forbids them from using Magic until the battle has ended, which gives Bickslow the advantage, as he can control his dolls from outside the rune trap's limits. Without so much as wasting a moment, Gray is bombarded by repeated laser blasts from Bickslow's dolls; the man laughs at Gray's inability to utilize Magic in this situation. Gray, however, bounces back from this situation and prepares to deliver a fierce blow to the masked man, but becomes distracted by a little girl who is watching their fight, allowing Bickslow's dolls to deliver yet another fierce blow unto the Ice-Make Mage; coming out of the smoke, Gray jumps up and punches Bickslow in the face, surprising the man. As he turns around, questioning Gray's ability to have taken so many hits from his dolls, Bickslow sees that Gray has collapsed—unconscious—and claims his victory.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 110, Pages 11-17 Aftermath Back at the guild, seeing Gray defeated and the remaining members fall to twenty-eight, Natsu and Makarov look on in terror whilst Laxus' Thought Projection merely laughs. Taunting the group, Laxus asks who could defeat the Thunder God Tribe as it stands; Happy replies Gajeel, but Laxus notes that he's sitting the battle out, and when Natsu says that he can, Laxus says that his inability to leave makes him of no use. Seeing no other way out of the situation, Makarov surrenders to Laxus, but the man refuses to accept such a thing and instead demands that Makarov transfer the title of Guild Master over to him lest the petrified women turn to sand.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 110, Pages 18-20 Continuing on, Laxus tells Makarov to use the guild's public address system to announce his relinquishing of the title to himself before releasing his Thought Projection, which Natsu tries to uselessly attack. With Laxus' presence now gone, Makarov admits that he doesn't really care about being the Guild Master of Fairy Tail, but states that he can't leave the seat to Laxus as he lacks heart and conviction. As Happy, Makarov and Natsu try to find some way to defeat Laxus before the girls turn to sand, Gajeel reveals himself from behind the countertop; when Makarov asks him to go defeat Laxus, Gajeel agrees under the pretense of settling their earlier score, but finds himself, much like Natsu, unable to leave the rune entrapment.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 111, Pages 2-6 References Navigation